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NEW SEPTEMBER 25, 2014 VA REGULATIONS DESTROY DECADES OF VETERAN FRIENDLY ADJUDICATION.

The Federal Register (Vol. 79, Number 186) issued on September 25, 2014, now destroys much of the veteran friendly "duty to assist the veteran" presumptions available to veterans since World War II. These regulations are the greatest sabotage of veteran disability rights in the history of our nation. Basically, the new rules are:

--The veteran applying for benefits or appealing a benefits denial must use the required VA form for all purposes including Notice of Disagreement http://www.va.gov/vaforms/form_detail.asp?FormNo=21-0958 and Appeal to BVA http://www.va.gov/vaforms/va/pdf/VA9.pdf .

--A claim for Total Disability Individual Unemployability (TDIU) must be specifically made to VA. TDIU is no longer considered an implied claim within another claim. If a veteran does not ask for TDIU, it will not be granted.

--There are no more implied or informal claims. Iraq veterans who discover that they were exposed to mustard gas cannot allege, "I have a mustard gas claim." There is no more "agent Orange claim". If a veteran does not give his exact diagnoses, the VA can treat the claim as a notice only and not a claim. Specific medical pleading is now required or the VA will ignore or dismiss the claim.